sale

/seɪl/

/seɪl/

Other forms: sales

A sale is what occurs whenever an object or service is given in return for a payment of money. The sale of your old bike will happen more quickly if you price it at $50 instead of $500.

You can talk about the sale of your next door neighbor's house, and you can also describe the house as "for sale," or available to be purchased. When a store has a sale, it means goods temporarily cost less than usual — you can also say that things at that store are "on sale." The word sale comes from the Old English sala, from a Germanic root.

Definitions of sale

1. noun

   the general activity of selling
   “they tried to boost sales”

   types:

   auction, auction sale, vendue

   the public sale of something to the highest bidder

   sell

   the activity of persuading someone to buy

   type of:

   marketing, merchandising, selling

   the exchange of goods for an agreed sum of money
2. noun

   a particular instance of selling
   “he has just made his first sale”

   “they had to complete the sale before the banks closed”

   types:

   divestiture

   the sale by a company of a product line or a subsidiary or a division

   type of:

   marketing, merchandising, selling

   the exchange of goods for an agreed sum of money
3. noun

   the state of being purchasable; offered or exhibited for selling
   “you'll find vitamin C for sale at most pharmacies”

   “the new line of cars will soon be on sale”

   type of:

   merchantability

   the state of being fit for market; ready to be bought or sold
4. noun

   an occasion (usually brief) for buying at specially reduced prices
   “they held a sale to reduce their inventory”

   “I got some great bargains at their annual sale”

   synonyms: cut-rate sale, sales event

   types:

   bazaar, fair

   a sale of miscellany; often for charity

   boot sale, car boot sale

   an outdoor sale at which people sell things from the trunk of their car

   clearance sale, inventory-clearance sale

   a sale to reduce inventory

   closeout

   a sale intended to dispose of all remaining stock

   fire sale

   a sale of merchandise supposedly damaged by fire

   fire sale

   a sale of assets at very low prices typically when the seller faces bankruptcy

   garage sale, yard sale

   an outdoor sale of used personal or household items held on the seller's premises

   going-out-of-business sale

   a sale of all the tangible assets of a business that is about to close

   realisation, realization

   a sale in order to obtain money (as a sale of stock or a sale of the estate of a bankrupt person) or the money so obtained

   jumble sale, rummage sale

   a sale of donated articles

   selloff

   a sale of a relatively large number of assets (stocks or bonds or commodities) at a low price typically done to dispose of them rather than as normal trade

   white sale

   a sale of household linens

   book fair, bookfair

   bazaar at which books are sold or auctioned off in order to raise funds for a worthy cause

   craft fair

   a fair at which objects made by craftsmen are offered for sale

   type of:

   occasion

   an opportunity to do something
5. noun

   an agreement (or contract) in which property is transferred from the seller (vendor) to the buyer (vendee) for a fixed price in money (paid or agreed to be paid by the buyer)
   “the salesman faxed the sales agreement to his home office”

   synonyms: sales agreement

   types:

   conditional sale

   a sale in which the buyer receives title to the property only upon the performance of some condition (usually the full payment of the purchase price)

   execution sale, forced sale, judicial sale, sheriff's sale

   a sale of property by the sheriff under authority of a court's writ of execution in order satisfy an unpaid obligation

   type of:

   agreement, understanding

   the statement (oral or written) of an exchange of promises